Gov. Newsom Unveils New Drought Plan

State budget must meet the need for wastewater recycling projects

August 17, 2022

On August 11, Governor Newsom released a new water strategy for the state, warning that water supplies will shrink by 10% over the next twenty years due to climate change. While the plan has been met with mixed reactions, there is a lot to like, including its call to dramatically increase wastewater recycling, stormwater capture and reuse, groundwater remediation, and conservation. Now, we have until the end of the month to ensure the state budget includes sufficient funds to move these programs forward and ensure a resilient water future for California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom outlines a new water strategy for the state on Aug. 11, 2022.

Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters.

LA Waterkeeper has long called for a Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Restore approach to ensure an equitable and resilient water future for Los Angeles and the state. In fact, many of our lawsuits have contributed to a more sustainable local water future, including our groundbreaking suit that found that discharging wastewater into the ocean constitutes a ‘waste and unreasonable use’ of water in violation of the California Constitution.

Expanding water conservation, investing in multi-benefit, nature-based stormwater solutions, wastewater, and cleaning up contaminated groundwater could make the LA region significantly more reliant on local water than we’ve been since Mulholland and Pat Brown replumbed California’s water system, while creating thousands of quality green jobs in the process. And we’re glad that the Governor’s new strategy, which builds on the state’s 2020 water resilience portfolio, adopts these local water strategies. But the state must do more to fund these local water efforts now to avert our ongoing water crisis and build the foundation for long-term water security.

We've been doing our part locally. In 2018, with nearly 70% of the vote, LA County residents passed the Safe Clean Water Program (SCWP), a $285M per year program aimed at capturing, treating and reusing urban and stormwater runoff. Virtually every water agency in the county has started moving forward with large-scale wastewater recycling and groundwater cleanup efforts, which could provide more than a third of our local water needs. And we’ve made tremendous strides in water conservation – the City of Los Angeles, for example, saw a 29% reduction in water usage between 2003-2020.

Despite tremendous strides in water conservation, much more needs to be done to meet water reduction goals in Los Angeles.

As our current crisis demonstrates, however, more needs to be done – and fast. Despite Newsom’s plea for a 15% reduction in water usage statewide in the face of our ongoing megadrought, Los Angeles has not met this target, with only 11% reduction over the past year (though this is still significantly better than the mere 6% reduction across the entire Southland). While the SCWP will provide $5-6B in funding for stormwater projects over the next two decades, the funding need for all water projects has been estimated to be closer to $20B. And while LA Waterkeeper applauds the visionary leadership of our water agencies in pushing forward with massive groundwater cleanup and wastewater recycling efforts, these multi-billion-dollar projects are still largely in early stages, and will need significant investment to move forward. In all, the price tag for resilient local water projects in the LA region alone will top $20B over the next twenty years.

The already-negotiated state budget calls for $2.8B for drought, water resilience and drinking water measures, though the specifics of some of that funding must still be developed. While a sizable investment, it is still the proverbial ‘drop in the bucket’ compared to the needs to reverse California's century-old pump-and-dump approach to water management. It is important to note that not only will such an investment help alleviate the impacts of our climate-fueled ‘biblical’ drought, but as the water sector is now the leading user of electricity in the state, such an investment will actually reduce our carbon footprint.

LA Waterkeeper and a broad-based coalition of environmental and social justice groups, organized labor, business leaders, cities and water agencies are calling on the Governor and state Legislature to earmark an additional $500 million for large-scale wastewater recycling projects in Southern California, which would move our entire state an important step closer to regional water self-sufficiency. Such funding is critical to deliver on LA Mayor Garcetti’s pledge to recycle 100% of the city’s wastewater by 2035, will further the Metropolitan Water District’s Pure Water Southern California, and will support other local wastewater recycling projects like those being pursued at Ed C. Little facility in El Segundo and the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District in Calabasas.    

We also join NRDC, LAANE and other partners in calling for an investment of $200M in direct install conservation programs for low-income households, who are often excluded from rebate programs, as well as $330M for low-income ratepayer assistance.   

Please join us in these asks by contacting Governor Newsom (Tel. 916.445.2841), Senate Pro Tem Atkins (Tel. 916.651.4039) and Speaker of the Assembly Rendon (Tel: 916.319.2063) to let them know that you support another $500M for wastewater recycling, $200M for direct-install programs and $330M for low-income ratepayer assistance in the 2022/23 state budget to ensure an equitable and resilient water future for California!